“Nowadays we have so many things that take our attention – phones, Internet – and perhaps we need to disconnect from those and focus on the immediate world around us and the people that are actually present.”  -Nicolas Hoult

Before you can focus on a task at work or in your personal life, you have to know what you should be focusing on. After all, working hard on something that doesn’t give you the results you want or need, isn’t very helpful. The key is to make smart decisions, prioritize, and have a good idea of what you need to focus on today.

Start With The Big Picture

Before you can start to focus, you need to have a good grasp of the big pictures. Without this all-important first step, it’s too easy to fall into a trap of doing busywork or continuing to do the same tasks each day without seeing the results you want to get.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this in your own life. You go through the motions because that’s how you’ve always done it. It’s easier to stick to your habits than it is to sit down and figure out what the big picture is. It doesn’t matter if this is for a work project or a personal goal. Start by deciding exactly what it is you want to accomplish.

Make A Plan And Come Up With A Strategy

Once you have that big picture or big goal in mind, it’s time to make a plan for getting from where you’re at now to where you want to be. In your personal life, that might mean figuring out how you can go from living in an apartment to owning your own home. At work, it could mean going from the position you have now to getting that management promotion or seeing a larger project through from start to finish.

It may be helpful to map it out on a piece of paper or with your favorite mind mapping software. Seeing all the pieces in one place and how they interconnect can be very helpful in the next step.

Turn That Plan Into Action Items

Last but not least it’s time to turn that strategy into action items. These are simple tasks you can get done one at a time. For example:  with home ownership, this may mean paying off your credit cards, saving for a down payment, and all the little things you can do to come up with that extra money (like cooking at home more or canceling your cable). For work and business related projects, this means breaking it down into small projects, tasks, or daily to-do lists you can work from.

Once you have those individual steps it will become much easier to focus on them one at a time and get stuff done.